1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to drawer slides and, more specifically, to three-piece drawer slide assemblies having a unique corrugated geometry capable of use in cabinets housing a variety of drawers of different depths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Drawer slide assemblies for slidably supporting a drawer to allow the drawer to slide into and out of a cabinet, chest or other piece of furniture between closed and open conditions frequently have a three-piece construction. Such an assembly includes a drawer-side slide member connected to a drawer, a cabinet-side slide member connected to the frame of the cabinet and an intermediate piece slidably coupled to the drawer and cabinet members. Slide assemblies could be very complex, such as ball bearing assemblies, which have numerous intricate parts and are normally used for drawers intended to support very heavy loads.
Slide assemblies are also known which are quite simple in construction consisting only of three discrete pieces (hereinafter, `one-piece slide assemblies`), namely a cabinet side slide member, a drawer-side slide member and an intermediate piece. However, construction of conventional one-piece slide assemblies does not lend itself to use with drawers intended to support very heavy loads. It would be an advancement in the prior art, therefore, to provide a one-piece slide assembly which is durable, simple in construction, low in cost, low in noise and weight, and dimensioned to avoid side play of a drawer during travel.
Most commonly, three-piece slides are generally of simple construction and used in cabinets equipped with a fixed configuration of drawers. Consumers, in the past, therefore, have been limited in buying storage cabinets equipped with only one configuration of storage drawers. This has caused them to conduct lengthy searches to find the exact storage device to fit their precise needs or has not allowed them to store their belongings in the manner that they desired. Further, if their storage needs change, they are either forced to buy an entire new cabinet or attempt to rearrange their belongings in their current cabinet.
Though there are now available some modular storage cabinets for housing interchangeable and differently-sized drawers, they are constructed with intricate multi-part cabinet and drawer guides and slides. This multi-part intricate design is time-consuming and costly to construct and manufacture.